But the decision to change the direction of the program – and the hiring of Brohm – tells the story of his first year.

This much is certain – this first year moved at a rapid pace.

No surprise, really, to Bobinski. Or anyone else.

Meeting new people. Understanding the environment of the athletic department. Getting to know donors. Interacting with coaches, student-athletes and members of the staff. Recognizing the strengths and where the gaps are.

There are still people to meet and more to learn. It’s an ongoing process.

“There’s no way to have it feel anything other than that,” said Bobinski, who began his duties in September of last year after three years at Georgia Tech. “You can’t touch them all. You don’t get all the bases covered.”

He’s trying to cover the bases. About $4 million in new resources have been funneled into football, trying to bring the program up to speed with its Big Ten peers.

As Brohm, his coaching staff and support personnel also become comfortable with the landscape, Bobinski will shift his time elsewhere. But football needs constant attention, and Bobinski won’t stray far from a program the athletic department – and the university – needs to be successful.

Bobinski walked into a situation where the football program needed an overhaul. It was the priority.

“It was job one, two and three,” Purdue president Mitch Daniels said. “In the end, it’s the results that matter but we’re pleased with what he’s done with football.”

Although the first year moved quickly, Daniels said Bobinski did not when evaluating the program. It was clear change and a new direction was coming but Bobinski didn’t push it or wait too long.

“He’s moved fast enough but not impulsively,” Daniels said. “He’s identified many of the strong aspects that we have and preserved them. He’s gone after all the main improvements we all agreed that, Morgan included, needed to be worked on.

“Everything I hear and can tell, he’s won over the staff. He’s moved at an appropriate speed and I feel really good about that.”

He’s brought a different approach to the entire enterprise.

Burke did things his way but Bobinski comes at it from a different viewpoint. His over 30 years of administrative experience at Georgia Tech, Xavier, Akron and Notre Dame gives Bobinski the background to know what questions to ask, see where changes are needed or how things can be improved.

He’s asked the pointed questions and brought different initiatives.

“It’s caused people to snap to a little bit,” he said.

It’s all part of the adjustment period. He’s tried to raise the bar, both on and off the field. He wants a higher set of expectations and accountability throughout the department. He's challenged his coaches to re-energize themselves, asking them to go back to the mindset when they were first starting out.

“Let’s find ways to keep ourselves fresh and maintain that competitive edge,” he said. “When you take a new job, you want to make things happen. Nobody gets hired to keep it the way it is. That’s not the way things happen. How do you make this thing move? When I interact with our coaches, I ask those kinds of questions.”

Bobinski’s tenure at Purdue will be tied to the success of the football program. For that reason, the progress of Brohm in his first season remains high on his list.

The football program’s new $65 million Performance Complex is set to open at the end of the month and lights are being installed at Ross-Ade Stadium. Alcohol will be sold throughout Ross-Ade and Mackey Arena. He wants to add a game day locker inside the stadium but it is awaiting cost projections to finalize a fund raising plan.

“I’ll continue helping the football program to launch and make sure we get ourselves pushing that in the right direction,” Bobinski said. “You can’t take the eye off that ball.”